JP2003115347A - Spacer of connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a spacer of a connector to make assembling of the connector easier. SOLUTION: The spacer 4 as the spacer of the connector constitutes the connector. The spacer 4 is mounted on a connector housing of the connector. The spacer 4 is provided with a face part 30, a pair of locking pieces 31a, 31b, and a falling out preventing piece 32. The face part 30 is parallel to the peripheral wall of the connector housing. A pair of locking pieces 31a, 31b are installed so as to stand from the outer brim of the face part 30. A notched part 36 is formed in the locking piece 31a of one side. A locking claw 33 is installed at the tip part 35 of the locking pieces 31a, 31b. The falling out preventing piece 32 is arranged nearer to the locking piece 31a of one side than the center between a pair of mutual locking piece 31a, 31b. The falling out preventing piece 32 is provided with a protrusion 32c. The distance T1 between the locking piece 31a of one side and the edge face 32d of the protrusion 32c is smaller than the thickness T2 of the locking piece 31b of the other side.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a spacer for a connector used for connecting electric wires.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A wide variety of electronic devices are mounted on an automobile as a moving body. The automobile has a wire harness arranged to transmit electric power, control signals, and the like to the electronic device. The wire harness includes a plurality of electric wires and a connector. The electric wire is a so-called covered electric wire including a conductive core wire and an insulating covering portion that covers the core wire.

The connector includes a conductive terminal fitting and an insulating connector housing. The terminal fittings are
It is obtained by bending a conductive sheet metal. The connector housing is formed in a box shape and accommodates the terminal fitting. The connector mates with the connector of the electronic device. In the wire harness having the above-described configuration, the connector is connector-coupled to the connector of the electronic device, and the electric power and the control signal described above are transmitted to these electronic devices.

As the above-mentioned connector, a connector provided with a spacer for preventing the terminal fitting from coming out of the connector housing may be used. This type of connector includes a terminal fitting, a connector housing that houses the terminal fitting, and a spacer. The connector housing integrally includes a main body portion that houses the terminal fitting and a tubular portion. The tubular portion houses the main body portion inside.

The connector also has a hole penetrating the outer wall of the tubular portion. The spacer is inserted into the connector housing through the hole and is locked to the main body. The spacer includes a pair of locking pieces that are locked to the main body, a slip-out preventing piece that enters the main body when the locking pieces are locked to the main body, and a locking piece that locks to the main body. And a surface portion that is parallel to the outer wall in which the hole is provided.

The locking pieces are provided on both edges of the surface portion.
The locking piece locks on the outer surface of the main body. The disengagement prevention piece is provided between the pair of locking pieces. The disengagement prevention piece is provided closer to one of the locking pieces than the center of the pair of locking pieces.

Further, in the spacer, the locking piece is locked to the main body portion, and the removal prevention piece allows the terminal fitting to enter the main body portion, and the removal prevention piece allows the terminal fitting to come out of the main body portion. It is freely displaceable over a slip-out prevention position that prevents this.

The locking piece is locked to the main body of the connector housing to position the spacer at the allowable position. And
Insert the terminal fitting into the body. After accommodating the terminal fittings in the main body, the spacer is displaced to the removal prevention position. In this way, the above-mentioned connector is assembled.

[0009]

In the spacer of the connector described above, the slip-out preventing piece is arranged closer to one of the locking pieces than the center between the pair of locking pieces. Therefore, when the other locking piece of one spacer enters between the one locking piece of the other spacer and the pull-out prevention piece, these spacers may be entangled with each other. At this time, since the slip-out prevention piece is arranged near one of the locking pieces, the spacers intertwined with each other were hard to come off.

Therefore, it is difficult for an operator to attach the spacer to the connector housing. Further, it has been an obstacle to automating the work of mounting the spacer on the connector housing. As described above, the spacer described above tends to make it difficult to assemble the connector.

Further, the connector housing has a plurality of product numbers in which the number of terminal fittings accommodated therein is different from each other. Therefore, there are a plurality of product numbers depending on the connector housing to which the spacer is also attached. However,
In many cases, even if the part numbers of the connector housings to be mounted are different, the spacers only have different lengths of the slip-out preventing pieces.

For this reason, in particular, a spacer to be mounted on a connector housing containing few terminal fittings may be mounted on a connector housing containing many terminal fittings. In this case, there is a possibility that the worker may not be able to recognize that the spacer is erroneously attached after the attachment. As described above, the above-mentioned spacer may be attached to the connector housing having an incorrect product number.

Accordingly, a first object of the present invention is to provide a connector spacer that facilitates assembly of the connector. A second object is to provide a connector spacer that can be prevented from being attached to an incorrect connector housing number.

[0014]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned first object, the spacer of the connector of the present invention according to claim 1 is attached to a main body of a connector housing for accommodating terminal fittings, In the spacer of the connector for preventing the terminal fitting from coming out of the main body,
A surface portion that is parallel to the outer wall of the connector housing when attached to the main body portion, a pair of locking pieces standing in the same direction from opposite edges of the surface portion in opposite directions, and a pair of locking pieces. Locking claws provided at the end portions on the side distant from the respective surface portions and capable of locking to the outer surface of the main body portion, and provided on one locking piece side from the center between the pair of locking pieces. When the locking claws are erected from the surface portion in the same direction as the pair of locking pieces and the locking claws are locked to the outer surface of the main body portion, the terminal metal fittings may come into the main body portion and come out of the main body portion. It is characterized by comprising a preventable disengagement prevention piece, and a cutout portion obtained by cutting out a part of the one locking piece from the end portion of the one locking piece toward the surface portion. .

In order to achieve the first object, the spacer of the connector of the present invention according to claim 2 is attached to a main body of a connector housing for accommodating the terminal fitting, and the terminal fitting is removed from the main body. In a spacer for a connector that prevents the connector from coming off, a surface portion that is parallel to the outer wall of the connector housing when attached to the main body portion, and a pair of a pair of standing members that are erected in the same direction from both edges of the surface portion opposite to each other. From the center between the pair of locking pieces, the locking pieces, the locking claws provided at the ends of the pair of locking pieces away from the surface and capable of locking to the outer surface of the main body. It is provided near one of the locking pieces and is erected from the surface portion in the same direction as the pair of locking pieces, and when the locking claw locks on the outer surface of the main body portion, it enters the main body portion. Inside the body A disengagement prevention piece capable of preventing the terminal metal fitting from slipping out, and an interval reducing means for making a distance between the one locking piece and the disengagement prevention piece smaller than a thickness of the other locking piece. Is characterized by.

In order to achieve the first object, the spacer of the connector of the present invention according to claim 3 is attached to a main body of a connector housing for accommodating the terminal fitting, and the terminal fitting is removed from the main body. In a spacer for a connector that prevents the connector from coming off, a surface portion that is parallel to the outer wall of the connector housing when attached to the main body portion, and a pair of a pair of standing members that are erected in the same direction from both edges of the surface portion opposite to each other. From the center between the pair of locking pieces, the locking pieces, the locking claws provided at the ends of the pair of locking pieces away from the surface and capable of locking to the outer surface of the main body. It is provided near one of the locking pieces and is erected from the surface portion in the same direction as the pair of locking pieces, and when the locking claw locks on the outer surface of the main body portion, it enters the main body portion. Inside the body From which the terminal fitting can be prevented from slipping out, a notch portion that is formed by cutting out a part of the one locking piece from the end portion of the one locking piece toward the surface portion, It is characterized by further comprising: a space reducing means for making a distance between the one locking piece and the slip-out preventing piece smaller than a thickness of the other locking piece.

In order to achieve the first object, the spacer of the connector of the present invention according to claim 4 is the spacer of the connector according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the space reducing means is one of the one. It is characterized in that at least one of the locking piece and the slip-out preventing piece is a protrusion protruding in a direction in which the one of the locking piece and the slip-out preventing piece approaches each other.

In addition to the above-mentioned first object, in order to achieve the second object, the spacer of the connector of the present invention as defined in claim 5 is the terminal of the connector spacer as claimed in claim 4. There are a plurality of connector housings having different numbers of metal fittings, and when the product numbers of the connector housings to be mounted are different, the widths of the protrusions in the direction intersecting the mounting direction to the connector housing are different from each other. .

In order to achieve both the first object and the second object, the spacer of the connector of the present invention according to claim 6 is the spacer of the connector according to claim 5,
The width of the protrusion is reduced as the number of terminal fittings accommodated in the attached connector housing increases.

According to the spacer of the connector of the present invention described in claim 1, there is provided a notch portion in which one of the locking pieces is cut away from the end portion of the one locking piece toward the surface portion. Therefore, the other locking piece of one spacer is less likely to enter between the one locking piece of the other spacer and the slip-out preventing piece.

According to the spacer of the connector of the present invention as defined in claim 2, there is provided a gap reducing means for making the gap between the one locking piece and the slip-out preventing piece smaller than the thickness of the other locking piece. . Therefore, the other locking piece of one spacer cannot enter between the one locking piece of the other spacer and the slip-out preventing piece. Therefore, these spacers can be prevented from being entangled with each other.

According to the spacer of the connector of the present invention as set forth in claim 3, a notch portion is formed by notching one of the locking pieces from the end portion of the one locking piece toward the surface portion. A gap reducing means is provided to make the gap between the one locking piece and the slip-out preventing piece smaller than the thickness of the other locking piece.

Therefore, the other locking piece of one spacer cannot enter between the one locking piece of the other spacer and the slip-out preventing piece. Therefore, these spacers can be prevented from being entangled with each other. In addition, even if the other locking piece of one spacer enters between the one locking piece of the other spacer and the pull-out prevention piece, these spacers are easy to use because the notch is provided. Can be separated into

According to the spacer of the connector of the present invention as set forth in claim 4, the interval reducing means is a projection protruding from at least one of the one locking piece and the removal preventing piece.
Therefore, the distance between the one locking piece and the slip-out preventing piece is surely smaller than the thickness of the other locking piece. Therefore, the other locking piece of one spacer cannot enter between the one locking piece of the other spacer and the slip-out preventing piece. Therefore,
It is possible to more reliably prevent these spacers from being entangled with each other.

According to the spacer of the connector of the present invention described in claim 5, the width of the protrusion in the direction intersecting with the mounting direction to the connector housing is different for each product number. For this reason,
It can be prevented from being attached to the wrong connector housing number.

Further, due to the projection, the distance between the one locking piece and the slip-out preventing piece is smaller than the thickness of the other locking piece. Therefore, the other locking piece of one spacer cannot enter between the one locking piece of the other spacer and the slip-out preventing piece. Therefore, it is possible to more reliably prevent these spacers from being entangled with each other.

According to the spacer of the connector of the present invention described in claim 6, the width of the projection becomes smaller as the number of terminal fittings accommodated in the connector housing to be mounted increases. For this reason, the width of the protrusion of the spacer attached to the connector housing containing a small number of terminal fittings is larger than the width of the protrusion of the spacer attached to a connector housing containing a large number of terminal fittings. Therefore, the width of the protrusion in the direction intersecting with the mounting direction on the connector housing differs for each product number.

Therefore, by providing a hole along the outer shape of the protrusion of the spacer of the product number to be mounted on the connector housing, the spacer can be mounted on a connector housing having more terminal fittings than the connector housing to be mounted. Can be prevented. Therefore,
It can be prevented from being attached to the wrong connector housing number.

In the present invention, for example, the width of the protrusion of the spacer attached to the connector housing containing two terminal fittings is made larger than the width of the protrusion of the spacer attached to the connector housing containing four terminal fittings. Is desirable. It is desirable that the width of the protrusion of the spacer attached to the connector housing that accommodates four terminal fittings be larger than the width of the protrusion of the spacer that is attached to the connector housing that accommodates eight terminal fittings.
As described above, in the present invention, it is desirable to reduce the width of the protrusion as the number of terminal fittings accommodated in the connector housing to be attached increases.

Further, due to the projection, the distance between the one locking piece and the slip-out preventing piece is smaller than the thickness of the other locking piece. Therefore, the other locking piece of one spacer cannot enter between the one locking piece of the other spacer and the slip-out preventing piece. Therefore, it is possible to more reliably prevent these spacers from being entangled with each other.

[0031]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A spacer for a connector according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9. The spacer 4 (shown in FIG. 6 and the like) as the spacer of the connector according to the first embodiment of the present invention constitutes the connector 1 shown in FIG. 1 and the like. The connector 1 shown in FIG. 1 and the like constitutes a wire harness that is routed to an automobile or the like. As shown in FIG. 1 and the like, the connector 1 includes a terminal fitting 3
(Shown in FIGS. 2 and 3), the connector housing 2, and
The spacer 4 is provided.

The terminal fitting 3 is obtained by bending a conductive sheet metal or the like. The terminal fitting 3 is attached to an end of an electric wire 5 (shown in FIGS. 2 and 3) forming a wire harness. The terminal fitting 3 is electrically connected to the core wire of the electric wire 5. The connector housing 2 is made of synthetic resin. The connector housing 2 includes a body portion 10 and a tubular portion 11 having a tubular shape.
And are equipped with.

The body portion 10 is formed in a box shape. The main body portion 10 accommodates the terminal fitting 3 to which the end portion of the electric wire 5 is attached. The main body 10 includes a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 12 arranged in parallel with each other. Each of the terminal accommodating chambers 12 extends linearly and accommodates the terminal fitting 3 described above. In this embodiment, the connector housing 2 accommodates two terminal fittings 3.

The outer surface 10a of the main body 10 has a pair of first
Groove 13 and a pair of second grooves 14 are provided. Each of these grooves 13 and 14 is formed as a recess from the outer surface 10a. Also, these grooves 13, 14
Extend along the longitudinal direction of the terminal fitting 3 housed in the main body 10. These grooves 13 and 14 are respectively
One is provided on the outer surface 10a of the main body 10 located on the upper side and the lower side in FIG. The first groove 13 is the second groove 1
4 is arranged closer to the hole 24 described later.

Further, a through hole 15 is opened in an outer surface 10a of the main body 10 which faces a hole 24 described later. The through hole 15 communicates the outside and the inside of the main body 10.
The through hole 15 includes the plate portion passing portion 15a and the slit piece passing portion 1
5b and a projection passing portion 15c. Plate portion passing portion 15a, edge piece passing portion 15b, projection passing portion 15
c communicates with each other. The plate portion passing portion 15a extends along the outer shape of the plate portion 32a of the stopper member 32, which will be described later, of the spacer 4. The cut-out piece passing portion 15b extends along the outer shape of the cut-out piece 32b of the pull-out prevention piece 32 of the spacer 4 which will be described later. The projection passing portion 15c is along the outer shape of the projection 32c of the pull-out preventing piece 32 of the spacer 4 described later.

The tubular portion 11 is provided with a plurality of peripheral walls 20a, 20b, 20c and 20d connected to the outer edge of the main body portion 10 and is formed in a box shape (cylindrical shape). The peripheral walls 20a, 20
b, 20c, 20d form the outer wall described in this specification. That is, the tubular portion 11 is connected to the main body portion 10.
The tubular portion 11 houses the main body portion 10 inside. Perimeter wall 2
The edges of 0a, 20b, 20c, 20d located on the front side in FIG. 1 form an opening 21 for receiving a mating connector housing (not shown). Also, when the mating connector housing enters the opening 21,
The main body 10 penetrates into the mating connector housing.

A lock arm 22 and a release arm 23 are attached to one peripheral wall 20a located on the upper side of the tubular portion 11 in FIG. The lock arm 22 and the release arm 23 are integrally formed on the peripheral wall 20a. The lock arm 22 is engageable with a lock protrusion (not shown) of the mating connector housing. When the end portion 23a is pushed downward in FIG. 1, the release arm 23 elastically deforms the lock arm 22 engaged with the lock protrusion to release the engagement of the lock arm 22 with the lock protrusion.

A hole 24 is provided in another peripheral wall 20b located on the front side in FIG. 1 of the tubular portion 11. That is,
The connector 1 has a hole 24. The hole 24 is formed in the peripheral wall 20.
It penetrates through b and communicates the inside and outside of the tubular portion 11. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the hole 24 includes a spacer accommodating portion 25 and a communicating portion 26 that communicates with the spacer accommodating portion 25.
And are equipped with. The spacer accommodating portion 25 is provided with four linear inner edge portions 25a, 25b, 25c, 25d, and has a substantially rectangular planar shape. Spacer housing 2
5 has the same planar shape as the surface portion 30 of the spacer 4 described later. The spacer accommodating portion 25 is the surface portion 3 of the spacer 4.
It follows the plane shape of 0.

The communicating portion 26 is formed by cutting out the base material of the peripheral wall 20b located at one inner edge portion 25b of the spacer accommodating portion 25. In this way, the communication portion 26 becomes the spacer accommodating portion 25.
The inner edge portion 25b is notched. In the illustrated example, the communication portion 26 has four inner edge portions 25a, 25b, 25c, 25d.
The inner edge portion 25b closest to the opening 21 is cut out. In the figure, the spacer accommodating portion 25 and the communicating portion 2
The boundary with 6 or the inner edge portion 25b is shown by a dotted line. However, in reality, the spacer accommodating portion 25 and the communicating portion 26 communicate with each other, and the above-described boundary, that is, the inner edge portion 25b cannot be visually observed. The communication portion 26 is connected to two adjacent corners 25e of the spacer accommodating portion 25. In the communication portion 26, as the distance from the two corners 25e of the spacer accommodating portion 25 increases, the cutout amount of the inner edge portion 25b gradually increases. The cutout portion 25b includes a pair of inclined edges 27 connected to the corner 25e and one connecting edge 28.

Each of the slanted edges 27 has one end at the corner 2.
It is connected to 5e. The slanted edges 27 are each slanted toward the opening 21 as the distance from the corner 25e increases. The pair of inclined edges 27 includes all the inner edge portions 25a, 25b, 25c of the spacer accommodating portion 25,
It intersects with 25d. The connecting edge 28 is a pair of inclined edges 2.
The other ends of 7 are connected to each other. The connection edge 28 is parallel to the inner edge portion 25b of the spacer accommodating portion 25 where the communication portion 26 is formed. As described above, the hole 24 includes the spacer accommodating portion 25 and the communication portion 26, and the surface portion 30 of the spacer 4 is provided.
It is formed sufficiently larger.

As shown in FIGS. 6 to 9, the spacer 4 includes a surface portion 30, a pair of locking pieces 31, and a pair of locking claws 3.
3 and one detachment prevention piece 32 are integrally provided.
The surface portion 30 has a substantially flat plate shape. The surface portion 30 has a rectangular planar shape. The surface portion 30 is the spacer accommodating portion 25.
1 is inserted into the hole 24 along the arrow H in FIG. This arrow H intersects (orthogonally) with the longitudinal direction of the terminal fitting 3 housed in the main body 10. Arrow H
Is the mounting direction of the spacer 4 to the connector housing 2.

The pair of locking pieces 31 are connected to a pair of outer edges of the surface portion 30 which are located on opposite sides of each other. Note that these pair of outer edges are both edges described in the present specification. The pair of locking pieces 31 are erected from the outer edge of the surface portion 30. The pair of locking pieces 31 extend in the same direction from the outer edge of the surface portion 30.

The locking claw 33 is provided on the tip portion 35 farthest from the surface portion 30 of the locking piece 31. The tip portion 35 is an end portion of the locking piece 31 on the side away from the surface portion 30. The locking claw 33 projects from the tip portion 35 in a direction in which the pair of locking pieces 31 approaches each other. The locking claw 33 has a first
Can be locked in both the groove 13 and the second groove 14. The locking claw 33 locks on the outer surface 10 a of the main body 10 by locking on the grooves 13 and 14. The spacer 4 is formed in a U shape by the surface portion 30 and the pair of locking pieces 31.

The slip-out preventing piece 32 is arranged between the pair of locking pieces 31. The slip-out preventing piece 32 is arranged closer to one of the locking pieces 31 (hereinafter referred to as reference numeral 31a) located below the center between the pair of locking pieces 31 in FIG.
The removal prevention piece 32 includes a plate portion 32a, a cutout piece 32b,
The projection 32c as a space reducing means is integrally provided.

The plate portion 32a is formed in a plate shape and stands upright from the surface portion 30. The plate portion 32a, that is, the slip-out preventing piece 32 extends (is erected) from the surface portion 30 in the same direction as the pair of locking pieces 31. The longitudinal direction of the plate portion 32a is parallel to the arrow H described above. The strip 32b is
The same number as the terminal fittings 3 housed in the main body 10 of the connector housing 2 is provided. The strip 32b is
The plate portions 32a are arranged at equal intervals along the longitudinal direction. The cut-out piece 32b is erected from the plate portion 32a toward the other locking piece 31 (hereinafter referred to as reference numeral 31b) located on the upper side in FIG. The protrusion 32c projects from the plate portion 32a toward the one locking piece 31a. Protrusion 32c
The end surface 32d on the side away from the plate portion 32a of the
Is flat along.

The removal preventing piece 32 passes through the through hole 15 and
It can enter the main body 10. The plate portion 32a passes through the plate portion passing portion 15a, and the edge piece 32b passes through the edge portion passing portion 1.
The protrusion 32c passes through the protrusion passing portion 15c through the inside of 5b. The slip-out preventing piece 32 passes through the through hole 15 and then passes through the body portion 1.
When the terminal metal fitting 3 accommodated in the main body portion 10 is inserted into 0, it is possible to prevent the terminal metal fitting 3 from coming out of the main body portion 10.

Further, the above-mentioned spacer 4 has the notch 3
6 is provided. The cutout portion 36 has one locking piece 31a.
The base material forming the one locking piece 31a is cut away from the tip portion 35 toward the surface portion 30. That is, the cutout portion 36 cuts out a part of the one locking piece 31 a from the tip portion 35 toward the surface portion 30. The cutout 36 is
As shown in FIG. 9, one of the locking pieces 31a and the slip-off preventing piece 32 are opposed to the protrusion 32c along the direction in which they are opposed to each other. As shown in FIG. 8, the notch 36 has a rectangular planar shape.

Further, in the spacer 4 described above, the distance T1 between one locking piece 31a and the end surface 32d of the protrusion 32c is T1.
Is smaller than the thickness T2 of the other locking piece 31b along the direction in which the pair of locking pieces 31a and 31b face each other. The interval T1 is an interval between the one locking piece 31a and the slip-out preventing piece 32. Also, as shown in FIG.
The locking claw 33 provided on the one locking piece 31a along the direction in which the one locking piece 31a and the removal prevention piece 32 face each other.
And the plate portion 32a of the removal prevention piece 32 overlap. The protrusion 32c is formed to have a width W1 along the longitudinal direction of the terminal fitting 3. The width W1 is equal to that of the protrusion 3
2c is a width in a direction intersecting with the mounting direction of the spacer 4 to the connector housing 2. Further, one locking piece 31
The distance T between the locking claw 33 protruding from a and the removal prevention piece 32
3 (shown in FIG. 7) is smaller than the thickness T2 of the other locking piece 31b.

The spacer 4 having the above-described structure is provided with the peripheral wall 20b.
The surface portion 30 closes the spacer accommodating portion 25 in a state parallel to, and is inserted into the hole 24 along the arrow H. And
The locking claw 33 of each of the pair of locking pieces 31 has the first groove 1
Lock to 3. In the state in which the locking claw 33 is locked in the first groove 13, the slip-out preventing piece 32, that is, the spacer 4 is in the main body portion 10.
Allow the terminal fitting 3 to enter the inside. The position where the locking claw 33 is locked in the first groove 13 (shown in FIG. 4)
Is called an allowable position.

When the surface portion 30 is pushed toward the main body portion 10, that is, toward the back of the connector housing 2, the locking claw 3 is pressed.
3 is locked in the second groove 14. In the state where the locking claw 33 is locked in the second groove 14, the detachment prevention piece 32, that is, the spacer 4 is such that the terminal fitting 3 housed in the main body portion 10 is the main body portion 1.
Prevents getting out of zero. The position where the locking claw 33 is locked in the second groove 14 (shown in FIG. 5) is called the slip-out prevention position. In this way, the spacer 4 is freely displaceable between the above-mentioned allowable position and the slip-out preventing position.

The connector 1 having the above-described structure is assembled as follows. The spacer 4 is inserted into the hole 24 of the connector housing 2. Then, the spacer 4 is kept at the allowable position. Then, the terminal fitting 3 is provided in the main body 10.
Is inserted. The terminal fitting 3 is provided in the connector housing 2.
Etc. can be attached. After that, the surface portion 30 is pushed toward the inside of the main body portion 10, that is, the connector housing 2 through the hole 24 by the fingertip of the worker or the like.

Then, the spacer 4 is displaced to the above-mentioned removal preventing position. The terminal fitting 3 is prevented from dropping from the connector housing 2, and the locking claw 33 is locked to the second groove 14 to prevent the spacer 4 from dropping from the connector housing 2. In this way, the connector 1 having the above-described configuration is assembled.

According to this embodiment, one locking piece 31a
One locking piece 31 from the front end portion 35 to the surface portion 30
It is provided with a notch portion 36 in which a is cut out. Protrusion 32c
Is the distance T1 between the one locking piece 31a and the removal preventing piece 32.
Is smaller than the thickness T2 of the other locking piece 31b. Further, the locking claw 3 protruding from the one locking piece 31a
The distance T3 between the pull-out preventing piece 32 and the pull-out preventing piece 32 is equal to
It is smaller than the thickness T2 of b. For this reason, the other locking piece 31b of one spacer 4 cannot enter between the one locking piece 31a of the other spacer 4 and the slip-out preventing piece 32. Therefore, these spacers 4 can be prevented from being entangled with each other.

Further, the other locking piece 3 of one spacer 4
Even if 1b enters between the locking piece 31a of one of the other spacers 4 and the slip-out preventing piece 32, since the notch portion 36 is provided, these spacers 4 can be easily separated. . Therefore, the time required to attach the spacer 4 to the connector housing 2 can be suppressed, and the connector 1 can be easily assembled.

Further, the hole 24 is provided with a spacer accommodating portion 25 and a communicating portion 26 and is formed larger than the surface portion 30 of the spacer 4. Therefore, it becomes easy to push the surface portion 30 of the spacer 4 toward the back of the connector housing 2 through the hole 24. Therefore, the connector 1 is easy to assemble.

As the distance from the two corners 25e of the spacer accommodating portion 25 increases, the cutout amount of the inner edge portion 25b of the communicating portion 26 gradually increases. The communication portion 26 is provided on all inner edge portions 25a, 25b, 25c, 25 of the spacer accommodating portion 25.
Two inclined edges 27 intersecting with d are provided. Therefore, the hole 24 is certainly larger than the surface portion 30 of the spacer 4. Therefore, the surface portion 3 of the spacer 4 passes through the hole 24.
It becomes easier to push 0 toward the back of the connector housing 2 more reliably. Therefore, the connector 1 can be more reliably and easily assembled.

In addition, the two corners 25 of the space 25
As the distance from e increases, the inner edge portion 25 of the communication portion 26
The notch amount of b is gradually increasing. Also, the slanted edge 27
Are the inner edge portions 25a, 25b, 25 of the spacer accommodating portion 25.
It intersects with c and 25d. Therefore, even if the connector 1 is compressed in the vertical direction in FIG. 1, it is possible to prevent the connector housing 2 from being damaged from the corner 25e of the spacer accommodating portion 25 and the like. Therefore, the mechanical strength of the connector housing 2 can be prevented from decreasing.

Further, the groove 1 is formed on the outer surface 10a of the main body 10.
3, 14 and the locking claw 33 is provided on the locking pieces 31a, 31b of the spacer 4. The locking claw 33 is locked in the grooves 13 and 14, and the spacer 4 is attached to the main body 10 or the connector housing 2. Therefore, the locking pieces 31a,
The locking pieces 31a, 31b of the spacer 4 can be made thinner than in the case where a groove is provided on the outer surface 10a and a groove is provided on the outer surface 10a. Therefore, the spacer 4 can be downsized, and the connector 1 can be downsized.

Next, the spacer of the connector according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The same parts as those in the first embodiment described above are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. The spacer 4a (shown in FIG. 12) as the spacer of the connector of this embodiment constitutes the connector 1a shown in FIG. The connector 1a shown in FIG. 10 is the connector 1 of the first embodiment described above.
Is a connector with a different part number. Therefore, the connector housing 2a and the spacer 4a also have different product numbers from those of the above-described first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 10, the connector 1a of this embodiment has a connector housing 2a and terminal fittings (see FIG.
1) 3) and the spacer 4a.
The connector housing 2a accommodates four terminal fittings 3. In addition, as shown in FIGS. 12 to 15, the spacer 4a integrally includes a surface portion 30, a pair of locking pieces 31, a pair of locking claws 33, and one removal preventing piece 32. .

In this embodiment, the slip-out preventing piece 32 is longer than that in the first embodiment. Also, four cutout pieces 32b are provided. Further, the terminal fitting 3 of the protrusion 32c
The width W2 along the longitudinal direction of is smaller than the width W1 of the protrusion 32c of the first embodiment described above.

According to the present embodiment, the interval T1 between the one locking piece 31a and the slip-out preventing piece 32 due to the protrusion 32c is
It is smaller than the thickness T2 of the other locking piece 31b.
The interval T3 between the locking claw 33 protruding from the one locking piece 31a and the removal preventing piece 32 is equal to the thickness T2 of the other locking piece 31b.
It is getting smaller. Furthermore, the notch 36 is provided. Therefore, the other locking piece 3 of one spacer 4a
1b cannot enter between the locking piece 31a of one of the other spacers 4a and the pull-out prevention piece 32. Therefore, it is possible to more reliably prevent the spacers 4a from being entangled with each other. Therefore, the time required for mounting the spacer 4a on the connector housing 2a can be suppressed, and the connector 1a can be easily assembled.

In the present invention, the widths W1 and W2 of the projections 32c of the spacers 4 and 4a having different product numbers in the direction intersecting the arrow H are different from each other. Further, as the number of terminal fittings 3 accommodated increases, the width of the protrusion 32c becomes smaller.

According to the invention, the connector housing 2,
The width W of the protrusion 32c in the direction intersecting the mounting direction on the 2a
1 and W2 are different for each product number. The width W1 of the protrusion 32c of the spacer 4 attached to the connector housing 2 having a small number of terminal fittings 3 accommodated is larger than the width W2 of the protrusion 32c of the spacer 4a attached to the connector housing 2a having a large number of terminal fittings 3 accommodated. .

Therefore, by providing through holes 15 along the outer shape of the protrusions 32c of the spacers 4 and 4a of the product numbers to be mounted on the connector housings 2 and 2a, the spacers 4 can be accommodated from the connector housing 2 to be mounted. It can be prevented from being attached to the connector housing 2a having many terminal fittings 3. Therefore, the protrusion 32 in the direction intersecting the mounting direction to the connector housings 2 and 2a.
The widths W1 and W2 of c are different for each product number. Therefore, the spacer 4 can be prevented from being attached to the connector housing 2a having an incorrect product number. In the present invention, it is desirable to reduce the widths W1 and W2 of the protrusions 32c of the spacers 4 and 4a as the number of terminal fittings 3 housed in the connector housings 2 and 2a to be attached increases.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the protrusion 32c is projected from the slip-out preventing piece 32. However, in the present invention, the protrusion 32c may be projected from the one locking piece 31a. The protrusion 32c may be projected from both the one locking piece 31a and the slip-out preventing piece 32. In short, according to the present invention, at least one of the one locking piece 31a and the removal prevention piece 32 is used, and the one locking piece 31a and the removal prevention piece 3 are provided.
It suffices to project the protrusion 32c in a direction in which 2 and 2 approach each other.

[0067]

As described above, the present invention according to claim 1 is provided with the notch portion in which one of the locking pieces is cut away from the end portion of the one locking piece toward the surface portion. . Therefore, even if the other locking piece of one spacer enters between the one locking piece of the other spacer and the pull-out prevention piece, these spacers can be easily separated. Therefore, the time required to attach the spacer to the connector housing can be suppressed, and the connector can be easily assembled.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided interval reducing means for making the interval between the one locking piece and the slip-out preventing piece smaller than the thickness of the other locking piece. Therefore, the other locking piece of one spacer cannot enter between the one locking piece of the other spacer and the slip-out preventing piece. Therefore, these spacers can be prevented from being entangled with each other. Therefore, the time required to attach the spacer to the connector housing can be suppressed, and the connector can be easily assembled.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a notch portion in which one of the locking pieces is cut away from the end portion toward the surface portion. A gap reducing means is provided to make the gap between the one locking piece and the slip-out preventing piece smaller than the thickness of the other locking piece. Therefore, the other locking piece of one spacer cannot enter between the one locking piece of the other spacer and the slip-out preventing piece. Therefore, these spacers can be prevented from being entangled with each other.

Also, the other locking piece of one spacer is
Since the notch is provided even when the spacer enters between the locking piece and the removal preventing piece of the other spacer, these spacers can be easily separated. Therefore, the time required to attach the spacer to the connector housing can be suppressed, and the connector can be easily assembled.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the space reducing means is a projection protruding from at least one of the one locking piece and the slip-out preventing piece. Therefore, the distance between the one locking piece and the slip-out preventing piece is surely smaller than the thickness of the other locking piece. Therefore, the other locking piece of one spacer is
It cannot enter between one locking piece of the other spacer and the removal prevention piece. Therefore, it is possible to more reliably prevent these spacers from being entangled with each other. Therefore, the time required to attach the spacer to the connector housing can be suppressed, and the connector can be easily assembled.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the width of the protrusion in the direction intersecting with the mounting direction to the connector housing is different for each product number. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the connector housing from being attached to the wrong connector housing number.

Further, due to the projection, the distance between the one locking piece and the removal preventing piece is smaller than the thickness of the other locking piece. Therefore, the other locking piece of one spacer cannot enter between the one locking piece of the other spacer and the slip-out preventing piece. Therefore, it is possible to more reliably prevent these spacers from being entangled with each other. Therefore, the time required to attach the spacer to the connector housing can be suppressed, and the connector can be easily assembled.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the width of the protrusion of the spacer attached to the connector housing containing less terminal fittings is larger than the width of the protrusion of the spacer attached to the connector housing containing many terminal fittings. Therefore, the width of the protrusion in the direction intersecting with the mounting direction on the connector housing differs for each product number.

Therefore, by providing a hole along the outer shape of the protrusion of the spacer of the product number to be mounted on the connector housing, the connector housing can be mounted on more connector fittings than the connector housing to be mounted. Can be prevented. Therefore, it can be prevented from being attached to the wrong connector housing.
In the present invention, it is desirable to reduce the width of the protrusion as the number of terminal fittings accommodated in the connector housing to be attached increases.

Further, due to the projection, the distance between the one locking piece and the slip-out preventing piece is smaller than the thickness of the other locking piece. Therefore, the other locking piece of one spacer cannot enter between the one locking piece of the other spacer and the slip-out preventing piece. Therefore, it is possible to more reliably prevent these spacers from being entangled with each other. Therefore, the time required to attach the spacer to the connector housing can be suppressed, and the connector can be easily assembled.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a connector including a spacer according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a side view of a connector housing of the connector shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

3 is a side view of the connector shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the connector showing a state where the spacer shown in FIG. 1 is located at an allowance position.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the connector showing a state in which the spacer shown in FIG. 1 is positioned at the pull-out prevention position.

6 is a front view of the spacer shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

7 is a side view of the spacer as seen from the direction of arrow VII in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the spacer as seen from the direction of arrow VIII in FIG.

9 is a sectional view taken along line IX-IX in FIG.

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of a connector including a spacer according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

11 is a side view of a connector housing of the connector shown in FIG.

12 is a front view of the spacer shown in FIG.

13 is a side view of the spacer as seen from the direction of arrow XIII in FIG.

14 is a plan view of the spacer as seen from the direction of arrow XIV in FIG.

15 is a sectional view taken along line XV-XV in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 1a Connector 2, 2a Connector housing 3 Terminal fittings 4, 4a Spacer 10 Main body 10a Outer surfaces 20a, 20b, 20c, 20d Peripheral wall (outer wall) 30 Surface portion 31 Engaging piece 31a One engaging piece 31b Another engaging piece 32 Detachment Prevention Piece 32c Protrusion (Space Reduction Means) 33 Engaging Claw 35 Tip (End of Side Separated from Surface) 36 Notch T1 Space between One Engaging Piece and End of Protrusion (One Engagement) Distance between one piece and the removal prevention piece) T2 Thickness of the other locking piece H Spacer mounting direction of the spacer to the connector housing W1, W2 Width of protrusion

Continued front page    (72) Inventor Naoto Sugie             206-1 Nunobikihara, Haibara-cho, Haibara-gun, Shizuoka Prefecture Yazaki             Parts Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 5E087 EE11 FF13 GG26 MM06 QQ04                       RR25 RR26 RR36 RR47

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A spacer for a connector, which is attached to a main body of a connector housing for accommodating a terminal fitting to prevent the terminal fitting from coming out of the main body, and an outer wall of the connector housing when attached to the main body. And a pair of locking pieces that are erected in the same direction from both edges located on opposite sides of the surface section, and a pair of locking pieces on the ends on the side away from the surface section. A locking claw provided on the outer surface of the main body, and a locking claw that is provided closer to one locking piece than the center between the pair of locking pieces and is in the same direction as the pair of locking pieces from the surface portion. And a locking member for preventing the terminal fitting from coming out of the main body when the locking claws are erected on the outer surface of the main body when the locking claw is locked to the outer surface of the main body. Stop Spacer connector, characterized in that the serial end provided with a partially cut away cutout portion of the one locking piece toward the surface. 2. A spacer for a connector, which is attached to a main body of a connector housing for accommodating a terminal fitting to prevent the terminal fitting from coming out of the main body, and an outer wall of the connector housing when attached to the main body. And a pair of locking pieces that are erected in the same direction from both edges located on opposite sides of the surface section, and a pair of locking pieces on the ends on the side away from the surface section. A locking claw provided on the outer surface of the main body, and a locking claw that is provided closer to one of the locking pieces than the center between the pair of locking pieces and is in the same direction as the pair of locking pieces from the surface portion. And a lock-out preventing piece that can prevent the terminal fitting from coming out of the main body when the locking claw is erected on the outer surface of the main body when the locking claw is locked to the outer surface of the main body. With a stop Serial The distance between the preventing piece missing, connectors spacer, characterized in that it includes a gap reducing means for reducing than the thickness of the other locking piece and. 3. A spacer for a connector, which is attached to a main body of a connector housing containing a terminal fitting to prevent the terminal fitting from slipping out of the main body, and an outer wall of the connector housing when attached to the main body. And a pair of locking pieces that are erected in the same direction from both edges located on opposite sides of the surface section, and a pair of locking pieces on the ends on the side away from the surface section. A locking claw provided on the outer surface of the main body, and a locking claw that is provided closer to one of the locking pieces than the center between the pair of locking pieces and is in the same direction as the pair of locking pieces from the surface portion. And a locking member for preventing the terminal fitting from coming out of the main body when the locking claws are erected on the outer surface of the main body when the locking claw is locked to the outer surface of the main body. Stop The notch part that is formed by cutting out a part of the one locking piece from the end portion toward the surface part, and the distance between the one locking piece and the slip-out preventing piece, and the thickness of the other locking piece. A spacer for a connector, comprising: a space reducing means for reducing the space. 4. The space reducing means is a projection that protrudes from at least one of the one locking piece and the removal prevention piece in a direction in which the one locking piece and the removal prevention piece approach each other. Claim 2 or claim 3 characterized in that
Spacer for the connector described. 5. A connector housing having a plurality of product numbers in which the number of terminal fittings to be accommodated is different from each other, and when the product numbers of the connector housings to be mounted are different, the width of the protrusion in a direction intersecting the mounting direction to the connector housing. 5. The connector spacer according to claim 4, wherein the spacers are different from each other. 6. The connector spacer according to claim 5, wherein the width of the protrusion is reduced as the number of terminal fittings accommodated in the connector housing to be mounted increases.